Smaller-screened, non-retina “iPad mini” expected before end of 2012

A 7-8 inch screen may be gracing Apple's tablet line by October.

Apple's suppliers have begun leaking like a sieve when it comes to the company's alleged plans to release a smaller version of the iPad. Both the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg published independent reports over the Fourth of July holiday claiming that a shrunken iPad, dubbed the "iPad mini" by the rumor mill, is indeed on the way. Customers will reportedly be able to buy it before the year's end.

The WSJ's sources, who claim to have knowledge from Apple's component suppliers in Asia, say Apple plans to begin mass production of a smaller-screen iPad in September. The iPad mini will reportedly have a screen size that is larger than seven but less than eight inches, with one source claiming that Apple is working with LG Display and AU Optronics for the displays. (All three iPads introduced up to this point have a screen that is 9.7 inches; Google's new Nexus 7 tablet is attracting some potential buyers with its 7-inch screen.)

Bloomberg's sources state practically the same thing regarding the screen size, adding that the display would likely not end up being a high-resolution "retina" display like the one in the existing third-generation iPad. Bloomberg says Apple "may announce" the device in October—a time when Apple typically talks about its music, movie, and now, iPhone products.

A lower-resolution display makes some sense for a smaller iPad. If the device is indeed on its way, Apple would likely position it as a cheaper, entry-level route into the iPad ecosystem, similar to the option the iPod nano provided during the full-sized iPod's heyday. Daring Fireball's John Gruber theorizes that the iPad mini would use the same display technology as the iPhone 3GS (also not retina), and that it will end up as 7.85 inches with a resolution of 1024x768—the same resolution as the original iPad or the iPad 2.

If that's the case, iPad developers may not have to charge their visuals much. But when combined with rumors of a larger-screened iPhone, it sounds like iOS developers will have to be ready for some design curveballs when Apple's fall media event rolls around.

Jacqui Cheng
Jacqui is an Editor at Large at Ars Technica, where she has spent the last eight years writing about Apple culture, gadgets, social networking, privacy, and more. Emailjacqui@arstechnica.com//Twitter@eJacqui

It would be a shame if it didn't have a high res screen, but at a lower cost it would be a great point of entry. I really like a higher ppi screen for a lot of things, but I could manage with 1024x768 at a 7inch size (ok, I've already got an iPad so I'm not really int he market, but my wife is holding out for one). Maybe they even drop the iPad2 altogether?

Are they planning to sue everone who makes 7" tablets as they will be "balant copies of iPad"?

Maybe. If they are quick enough they can patent the idea of a 7" screen and retroactively sue all other competitors of similar sized devices. Hell, I bet there's a foot race to the patent office as we speak.

It would be a shame if it didn't have a high res screen, but at a lower cost it would be a great point of entry. I really like a higher ppi screen for a lot of things, but I could manage with 1024x768 at a 7inch size (ok, I've already got an iPad so I'm not really int he market, but my wife is holding out for one). Maybe they even drop the iPad2 altogether?

Can it really compare vs a 720P Android tablet that will surely be cheaper though? I just don't see the market if it is going to be a half baked product.

I just don't get the transition strategy. Sure, you can run original iPad resolution apps on 1024x768, but I'd think you'd need to modify most of them to handle the physical element shrinkage. You just lost the existing catalog of apps. Maybe long term it doesn't matter, but in the short term I think it lessens the advantage of sticking with the apple ecosystem. Unless your just an apple fan...what's the compelling reason to get the iPad mini instead of the competition?

Are they planning to sue everone who makes 7" tablets as they will be "balant copies of iPad"?

Maybe. If they are quick enough they can patent the idea of a 7" screen and retroactively sue all other competitors of similar sized devices. Hell, I bet there's a foot race to the patent office as we speak.

Now that would be fun to watch. A bunch of patent lawyers in suits and Italian loafers trying to whack each other in the knees with their briefcases. If only they could all run in front of a bus at the same time.

If Apple can get the price point near $199 like the Kindle Fire that will make things very interesting. I doubt they will be able to get to a $199 price point, but $249 may be possible. The 7" iPad if it does come this fall and if the price point is around $250 will fly off the shelves for Christmas.

Same technology as the 3GS? I hope this is referring to the lack of Retina, not the actual display tech. If it's not IPS or better, Apple's going to have some serious problems. I hope it has LTE as an option.

Call me cynical, but I see the leaks of these stories as misinformation spread by Apple's PR teams in order to soften any blow that might be made by the Nexus 7. I'd be surprised to see a 7" iPad announced this year tbh.

On the other hand, it could be true that such a device has been in the works yet the timing of the leaks was still intentional to distract from Google's device.

I just don't get the transition strategy. Sure, you can run original iPad resolution apps on 1024x768, but I'd think you'd need to modify most of them to handle the physical element shrinkage. You just lost the existing catalog of apps. Maybe long term it doesn't matter, but in the short term I think it lessens the advantage of sticking with the apple ecosystem.

The theory seems to be it's pre-retina iPhone pixel density and pre-retina iPad pixel count, so that reduces fragmentation issues.

Quote:

Unless your just an apple fan...what's the compelling reason to get the iPad mini instead of the competition?

They're by far and away the market leader. Unless you're just anti-Apple, the question for most people would be what's a compelling reason to go with the competition? It's the iPod strategy all over again.

I just don't get the transition strategy. Sure, you can run original iPad resolution apps on 1024x768, but I'd think you'd need to modify most of them to handle the physical element shrinkage. You just lost the existing catalog of apps. Maybe long term it doesn't matter, but in the short term I think it lessens the advantage of sticking with the apple ecosystem. Unless your just an apple fan...what's the compelling reason to get the iPad mini instead of the competition?

It's not just being an Apple fan, it's about how the ecosystem locks you in. If you build your media catalog around iTunes and especially iTunes movies and TV shows, then you need an iDevice to view them. An Android tablet won't work.

The idea of a 7.x" iPad, is going to appeal to people who want more portability and to people with kids. I know a lot of people who bought Kindle Fire's for their kids and may do the same with the Nexus 7. At $200 it's a great price for a 'big gift' for a pre-teen or teen. If Apple gets one of these in the $250 range they will have something. If it's $299... still a lot of interest from iTunes users, but many who are not tied to any ecosystem yet will look at the Nexus instead IMHO.

The iPod Touch has been a great lead in for iPhones. an iPad Mini might be a great lead in for iPads or Macbooks.

I'd file this under 'believe it when I see it'. Larger iPhones and smaller iPads are rumoured all the time, yet the product fragmentation and extra pressure on developers doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.

Could it be widescreen, using a letterbox for everything but fullscreen movies and games?

Apple has said that they don't think widescreen makes sense in tablets for phones. Plus it would make this an oddball in the iDevice realm. Unless a widescreen iPhone and iPad are also on the horizon I am guessing it will be the same screen form factor as everything else.

Is such a device a mini version of an iPad, or is it a maxi version of an iPod touch? If the screen on the iPhones are getting bigger anyway, it seems to me it would make sense that the screen on the iPod touch would grow to be the same size too. Maybe Apple calculated that if you're going to make the iPod touch bigger anyway, you might as well make it a lot bigger and call it an iPad.

It seems to me it would be a weirdly complicated product lineup to have a slightly larger iPod touch, a new iPad mini, and a full iPad all in your product lineup...especially since the iPod nano has multitouch too. If you're going to come out with a mini iPad, to me it seems it would make sense to kill off the iPod touch, make the iPod nano a little more capable and just call it iPod... that way you'd keep your product lineup simple.

I just don't get the transition strategy. Sure, you can run original iPad resolution apps on 1024x768, but I'd think you'd need to modify most of them to handle the physical element shrinkage. You just lost the existing catalog of apps. Maybe long term it doesn't matter, but in the short term I think it lessens the advantage of sticking with the apple ecosystem. Unless your just an apple fan...what's the compelling reason to get the iPad mini instead of the competition?

Word has it that the screen with be the in 7.85" diagonal range, that would make it about 66% the size of the original 9.7" diagonal iPad screen.

For the most part with a scree that size,developers won't have to do much work if at all to their existing app catalog.

I just don't get the transition strategy. Sure, you can run original iPad resolution apps on 1024x768, but I'd think you'd need to modify most of them to handle the physical element shrinkage. You just lost the existing catalog of apps. Maybe long term it doesn't matter, but in the short term I think it lessens the advantage of sticking with the apple ecosystem. Unless your just an apple fan...what's the compelling reason to get the iPad mini instead of the competition?

It's not just being an Apple fan, it's about how the ecosystem locks you in. If you build your media catalog around iTunes and especially iTunes movies and TV shows, then you need an iDevice to view them. An Android tablet won't work.

The idea of a 7.x" iPad, is going to appeal to people who want more portability and to people with kids. I know a lot of people who bought Kindle Fire's for their kids and may do the same with the Nexus 7. At $200 it's a great price for a 'big gift' for a pre-teen or teen. If Apple gets one of these in the $250 range they will have something. If it's $299... still a lot of interest from iTunes users, but many who are not tied to any ecosystem yet will look at the Nexus instead IMHO.

The iPod Touch has been a great lead in for iPhones. an iPad Mini might be a great lead in for iPads or Macbooks.

Yep, this. It's one reason I stopped buying video content through iTunes (which wasn't too long after I'd started) - I don't want to be locked into a single manufacturer's ecosystem.

That's me, though, and lots and lots of people either never caught on to the problem or never considered it a problem in the first place - from older users right on up to first time buyers. It's a walled garden that works, and for many people that's all that matters.

It would be a shame if it didn't have a high res screen, but at a lower cost it would be a great point of entry. I really like a higher ppi screen for a lot of things, but I could manage with 1024x768 at a 7inch size (ok, I've already got an iPad so I'm not really int he market, but my wife is holding out for one). Maybe they even drop the iPad2 altogether?

Can it really compare vs a 720P Android tablet that will surely be cheaper though? I just don't see the market if it is going to be a half baked product.

Yes but the desperation, it smells a lot like late 90's Apple desperation. Glad to see Apple rejoining their normal position as an overpriced market follower (this really is the case it you count up number of years as a leader vs follower in every field they have gone into since the Apple II).

I just don't get the transition strategy. Sure, you can run original iPad resolution apps on 1024x768, but I'd think you'd need to modify most of them to handle the physical element shrinkage. You just lost the existing catalog of apps. Maybe long term it doesn't matter, but in the short term I think it lessens the advantage of sticking with the apple ecosystem.

The theory seems to be it's pre-retina iPhone pixel density and pre-retina iPad pixel count, so that reduces fragmentation issues.

But if you have to redo the layout for the smaller screen, you didn't reduce fragmentation issues. iPhone apps aren't iPad apps but smaller...you have to keep the basic elements (buttons, text boxes, etc) a similar physical size and redo your design around that constraint. It's totally doable, but it's not like when the iPad came out and you could automatically use all iPhone apps.

NickN wrote:

Quote:

Unless your just an apple fan...what's the compelling reason to get the iPad mini instead of the competition?

They're by far and away the market leader. Unless you're just anti-Apple, the question for most people would be what's a compelling reason to go with the competition? It's the iPod strategy all over again.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I see 10" tablets and 7" tablets as two different markets.

Honestly, I don't see it happening. It's not really Apple's style to join the party late with their tails between their legs. I'm betting it's just a PR ploy to cause people interested in a Nexus 7 tablet to say "I'll see what Apple has to offer first".

And if I'm wrong, then Apple just sacrificed their brand and opened the door to all sorts of ridicule. Didn't Jobs say something nasty about never making a 7 inch tablet?

I just don't get the transition strategy. Sure, you can run original iPad resolution apps on 1024x768, but I'd think you'd need to modify most of them to handle the physical element shrinkage. You just lost the existing catalog of apps. Maybe long term it doesn't matter, but in the short term I think it lessens the advantage of sticking with the apple ecosystem. Unless your just an apple fan...what's the compelling reason to get the iPad mini instead of the competition?

I think the point of that screen size (just below 8") is that then DPI and the size of UI elements will be exactly as on the iPhone -- which obviously proves that you don't need to "handle shrinking". UI elements will be a bit smaller than on the larger iPad, but not by much.

I just don't get the transition strategy. Sure, you can run original iPad resolution apps on 1024x768, but I'd think you'd need to modify most of them to handle the physical element shrinkage. You just lost the existing catalog of apps. Maybe long term it doesn't matter, but in the short term I think it lessens the advantage of sticking with the apple ecosystem.

The theory seems to be it's pre-retina iPhone pixel density and pre-retina iPad pixel count, so that reduces fragmentation issues.

But if you have to redo the layout for the smaller screen, you didn't reduce fragmentation issues. iPhone apps aren't iPad apps but smaller...you have to keep the basic elements (buttons, text boxes, etc) a similar physical size and redo your design around that constraint. It's totally doable, but it's not like when the iPad came out and you could automatically use all iPhone apps.

I would bet that unmodified iPad apps would run as is. The layout doesn't really have to change because it's the same pixel count as the original iPad, although things would be smaller. Although you could adjust for the size change by using metrics designed for the iPhone. You see the same thing now with universal apps that run on both the iPhone/iPod and the iPad. Things like text size don't necessarily change between the two versions.

Quote:

Maybe I'm wrong, but I see 10" tablets and 7" tablets as two different markets.

I doubt Apple agrees with you. I suspect to them it's more a market expansion like the bigger iPods vs. the Nano.

Honestly, I don't see it happening. It's not really Apple's style to join the party late with their tails between their legs. I'm betting it's just a PR ploy to cause people interested in a Nexus 7 tablet to say "I'll see what Apple has to offer first".

And if I'm wrong, then Apple just sacrificed their brand and opened the door to all sorts of ridicule. Didn't Jobs say something nasty about never making a 7 inch tablet?

You're right, it's not Apple's style. But they're going to flounder if they continue to sit at the top with little innovation and a lot of litigation. Others are out-developing them. I'm not saying they will finally let go of their laurels and embrace a budget market, but they need to evolve.

And if I'm wrong, then Apple just sacrificed their brand and opened the door to all sorts of ridicule. Didn't Jobs say something nasty about never making a 7 inch tablet?

Jobs doesn't have a say anymore and Apple would be happy to be ridiculed all the way to the bank (e.g., fitten's still laughing at the iPad name).

Edit: Regarding Apple sacrificing their brand, expect all the existing 7" tablet makers to welcome Apple to the market because it validates their products. It's the same thing the smaller players always say when the market leader moves into their space (just before they're wiped off the map).

You simply have to give Apples marketing department credit. The amount of free publicity over vapourware they get is amazing. No wonder they have so much money when publiciations are prepared to do stories on what someone may have overheard a friend of a friend talk about in a pub somewhere. Or what "may" be the new case for something Apple.